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8/31/11

Ride Home 8/31

Peace out August. I'll always remember you as that month with the earthquake and the hurricane and in which I bought a house and the one that came before September. It was also the month in which my Bikeshare key didn't work and I think I might now know why. I first noticed during a meeting today (Dear Employer, I am in fact very attentive during meetings. So attentive, in fact, that I'm able to do other stuff like mess around with my keys) that my key was split in twain. Twain! Twain I tell you! Here's a gruesome pictorial.

Free TFTS "merch" to anyone who can identify the brand of paper towel.

I used it for contrast, not for forensic antiseptic properties.

I wouldn't encourage you to find out, but I suspect that there should be some electronics, like a chip of some sort, embedded in this plastic. There was none and this probably explains why my key no longer works. (For CaBi users not in "the know," my key is black because I signed up super early or something. Its replacement will probably be red and I'll lose all of the very significant cachet that comes with a black key. On a related note, I'm completely delusional.)
If you're going 50 in a 25 and the only negative consequence is my yelling "SLOW DOWN" at you, I'd say you lucked out. You're driving a car with Mini in its name. If you have to compensate by speeding, you've got some problems.
When passed on a short block between stop signs by an aggressive driver in some big American luxury sedan, it's best to let it go. I try not to play "nimble bicyclist" (I think this was staged once by Diaghilev) and see if I can weave past again because if a person can't muster the patience to not do something this stupid, I'd hate to find out what else they'd be willing to do.
Two bicyclists on 34th between Prospect and M. One I wanted to ask if she knew about Black Women Bike, but thought it might come across like a lame pick-up line. The other appeared to be carrying plastic grocery bags by tying them in a knot and throwing them across his shoulders that the knot would rest on his neck. This is what happens when you ride a racing bike with 0.0 braze-ons!
Zombie joggers. I complain about them approximately 4,636,3242,341 times a week, so it should come as no surprise that I'm going to again. You can't run down the middle of the bridge sidepath! Believe it or not, but there are other users who might (mechanically aided) be travelling faster than you. I get that you're running and outpacing pedestrians, but seriously dude, I have a bicycle. I'm not exactly going super fast, but I've got wheels, which are sort of great, so I'd really appreciate it if you would just stay to one side and let me get by. Five dings and nothing. Speaking of zombies, you know that girl? She's like 5'7'' and blonde-ish? Wears a white tank top? Jogs? Maybe in Georgetown or Arlington? Maybe she's in your yoga class? Her? Yeah, she's like everywhere.
Quiet ride up Wilson. Only a couple of bicyclists out, spaced in such a way that there was no commuter peloton. I have mixed feelings about the commuter peloton. On one hand, a group of bicyclists would seem to be safer and mutually beneficial to all parties. On the other hand, riding alone is also pretty pleasant.
Saw Tim at the George Mason law school. He was doing this. For what it's worth, I noticed the full bike racks before I noticed Tim, but he noticed the full bike racks before I noticed them. I think it's time to add more since there's clearly demand. We rode together a bit, him portaging a baby, me a laptop. Still need to write that post about bike parking at Arlington grocery stores. (I swear that I started it (again) the other night.) In any case, there's no better way to commute by bike than with someone else (unless you're a Hinkley-esque loner...) and for anyone just beginning the whole enterprise of pedaling to work, try to enlist a buddy to accompany you.

4 comments:

'e split Robin's arrow in Twain!! - I really enjoyed the post especially since 1) it's my first time reading your blog 2) you made a reference to Robin Hood Men in Tights (intentional or not) and 3) I couldn't agree with you more on the topic of Zombie joggers.

@Zanna- I didn't intentionally mean to check RHMIT, but I watched that movie so many times as a kid, I think I internalized it and that explains much of the sensibility of this blog. What part of Arlington am I from? South Central? Anyway, thanks so much for reading!

@Petrus. I've checked the official TFTS closet and you are CORRECT! You can collect your bounty (TFTS "merch") by emailing your contact information to talesfromthesharrows@gmail.com. Or you can let it ride for double or nothing for the next TFTS reader contest. I might recommend letting it ride since we currently lack "merch." In any case, thanks for playing and thanks for reading!